1) Dogs do what works. They are opportunistic and smart. If something pays off for your dog, she will do it more. If it doesn’t work, she’ll stop. Think about coming when called. If you smile at your dog, throw a ball for her, or give her a bit of food when he comes to you, she’s more likely to do it again. And again. And again.
2) Happy dogs learn faster. Keep training light and bright. Make it look like you’re playing.
3) Fear and pain slow learning. Don’t use either of them.
4) Safety trumps everything. If your dog doesn’t feel safe you can’t teach her much of anything. Help her feel more comfortable. She’d do it for you.
5) Great training isn’t about who’s in charge. It’s about how you’re communicating. Notice what your dog is telling you. Teach your dog that her world is safe and that her actions can make good things happen.
Here is how one of my mentors used to put it. Some things trainers teach are simply their opinion. Others are the opinions shared among many trainers. Then there are the facts, verified, and peer-reviewed. The latter is what this article is about, the science of dog training.
Stewie
Here’s what we know for sure. If your dog does something, and that action is followed by a well-timed favorable outcome, the behavior will happen more frequently in the future. Edward Thorndike served up that gem back in 1905. It’s been tested so many times it’s known as Thorndike’s Law of Effect. Trainers know it for its good common sense. Sit followed by a bit of food yields more sits, and faster ones too. Thorndike’s law works for lots of things. Break it and you’re sunk.
We know this too. We can give or withhold good things to change our dog’s behavior. That’s the core thinking behind Skinner’s famous Learning Theory. Our dogs control their own behavior, but we can greatly influence their choices. How cool is that? Dog jumps up; he gets nothing. Dog sits nicely; he gets something nice. What do we get? We get less jumping and more sitting. This is probably the most scientifically tested bit of psychology on the planet. Good things happen – behavior increases. Good things don’t happen – behavior decreases.
It gets better. We influence something else too. We can create cues in the environment, like certain words, hand signals and situations to trigger behaviors. That’s what all these “commands” are about. It’s not trainer magic. It’s science. The cue “sit,” for instance, informs the dog that something good might be afoot. He plants his booty on the ground, because he’s learned that’s a safe bet. Bingo! Here comes the goody. Sit, then, becomes a very powerful word. We could have set up the same chain of events with any stimulus. The science is no different.
Okay, let’s geek out a little. All this boils down to A – B – C. That cue we were talking about is the “A.” It’s called an antecedent. I remember it because I’m asking the dog to do something. I’m polite like that. The “B” is for behavior (what the dog does). The “C” is the consequence, giving or taking something away to influence a change in behavior. That’s Learning Theory. “A” (antecedent): Doggie Come! “B” (behavior) he runs to us full force, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “C” (consequence): We throw his favorite ball for him to fetch. Brilliant! Now, here’s the rub. We can greatly influence this whole process, but even if we don’t the process is still always in play. Our dogs are learning just about every waking hour. Check this out. “A” (antecedent): Leftovers on the counter “asking” to be eaten (begging maybe). “ B” (behavior): dog lifts himself to the countertop for a sniff. “C” (consequence): the whole thing ends in a tasty snack. Our dog just learned a new trick and we had nothing at all to do with it. How about that Dr. Skinner?
Good dog trainers and behavior consultants know this stuff backwards and forwards. They’ve studied it; they’ve watched it at work; they’ve applied it in the field. They won’t bore you with all the minutia of contingency statements and functional analysis (okay, I might a little bit). Instead, they will look at any behavior problem and ask: What is the dog actually doing? That’s the behavior itself, like jumping up on the counter. It’s not an interpretation of behavior like, “he’s dominant” or “he’s trying to get back at you.” (That’s non-science). They’ll also ask, what’s triggering the behavior? There’s your antecedent, in this case the sight of the countertop itself. Then they’ll ask, what’s keeping the behavior going? Ah, the consequence! Sometimes there’s food up there.
Move a few puzzle pieces and the picture changes. We can control antecedents and consequences. Adjust those and sure enough your dog changes his behavior. That’s what learning is all about. In this example, keeping the dog out of the kitchen is a good way to avoid the antecedent. Clearing the countertop removes the potential for a yummy consequence. Teaching the dog to put his nose to work elsewhere is even better. Where did my human mom hide that delicious stuffed Kong Toy for me?
Practice your ABC’s. This science left the laboratory more than 70 years ago. Skinner’s students took it on the road in the 1940s training animals for carnivals, movies, TV, and the military. Sea mammal trainers eat, breathe and sleep it. It’s at work right now in your own home, whether you know it or not.
Applied well and gently, science-based training is the stuff of good communication with your dog. Applied lovingly, it’s the path to a deep and abiding friendship. Of course, that last part is simply my opinion.
You don’t need a dog trainer to tell you this, but I will anyway. Getting bitten by a dog hurts, and putting the word “play” or “puppy” in front of it doesn’t make it hurt any less. It does, however, say a lot about the intention behind the bite. We sometimes call that the function of the bite. It’s basically what the dog is getting for his biting effort. Knowing that can help us stop the problem.
Dogs who bite out of anger or fear usually get relief when they bite. Whatever it was they were angry at or afraid of, goes away. If they were upset by an activity (being groomed for instance), the bite stops the activity at least for a little while. The function of biting is to stop something, or make something go away. These can be tricky cases for behavior consultants because part of the solution is to help the dog like the thing or activity that currently makes him bite. (More on that another time).
Dogs and puppies who bite while playing are trying to get something going. They don’t want you to go away; and they don’t want an activity to end. Instead, they want your attention, your full attention, now. The function of biting is to start something, or get something. It works too, doesn’t it? We may spend hours ignoring our dog, but the minute he grabs hold of our pant leg look what happens. He’s now the center of attention. We stop everything to attend to our little shark.
By the time I get called in on these cases, the dog in question is usually pretty good at getting people’s attention by biting. I like to look for what gets the dog started on his biting rampage. Sometimes it’s just the site of a person. Other times it’s a fun game that gets out of control. I also like to look at what happens immediately after the dog bites. Most of the time the dog gets a whole lot of attention. Remember, even scolding is attention. In either case, we’re actually teaching the dog to bite more.
What can we do about it? The answer is, a lot. First, steel up your nerves and take a deep breath. Biting in general is very impersonal. It’s just a behavior that yields a result. We can influence what starts the biting. If you know what activity gets your dog going, avoid it for the time being. (Example: if wrestling with your dog gets him started on biting, stop that activity). We also have control over many of the consequences of biting. If your dog is biting for attention, withhold that attention. I recommend taking the process a step further. The opposite of attention isn’t ignoring; it’s ending social contact altogether. Put the dog in his crate for a short time out. He’ll learn quickly that his teeth don’t get him what he wants, which is you.
We can and should also teach our dog good manners, proactively. We don’t want to spend our whole relationship with our dog reacting to his biting. Instead, show him what really gets your attention. In my household, sitting, attentive watching and coming when called get my attention every time. Tricks do too. I especially like it when my dog, Stella, rests her chin on my knee. Too cute. Shower your dog with attention for those good behaviors, and always be on the lookout for your dog doing something right.
Five Fundamentals of Dog Training.